While the children continued talking about beasts, Tao's face suddenly fell.
"Will it be very bad if we stop using the new cultivation methods here? I hate that they're forbidden in Goldcrest territory..." His voice dropped to a whisper, eyes darting nervously toward the door as if patrollers might materialize at the mere mention of 'forbidden' techniques.
"You stopped today's cultivation?" Ren asked.
The casual conversation had suddenly veered into more serious territory.
Tao and Li exchanged nervous glances.
"Technically the day isn't over yet, but yes," Li admitted in a low voice. "We use them freely at school since it's on the other side of the new border... but not here."
"Master Huang told us not to bring any notes home," added Tao, leaning closer as if sharing a dangerous secret. "He says he doesn't know what the patrols might be using to detect if we're using them."
